The present invention relates to a recoil brake for a gun. The recoil brake includes a brake cylinder in which a piston is slidably arranged. As the piston moves when urged by the recoiling mass, it displaces fluid through a narrow flow cross section to thus brake the recoiling mass. The piston rod and the brake cylinder define a brake chamber formed therebetween. The recoil brake is provided with a heat equalization device that includes a heat equalization chamber therein which may receive hydraulic fluid from the brake chamber through a throttle bore. The heat equalization chamber is bounded by a spring-tensioned heat equalization piston which is coupled with an indicator element for detecting an operating condition (the temperature of the hydraulic fluid) of the recoil brake.
A recoil brake of the above type is disclosed in German Pat. No. 1,283,706 which describes a recoil brake containing a heat equalization chamber disposed in the nonpressurized front region of the recoil brake and is connected with the pressure equalizing chamber that cooperates with the brake chamber. Since the connected indicator device which indicates the operational state of the brake is thus disposed at the front of the recoil brake, it is difficult to observe the operational state of the recoil brake with simple means within the interior of a turret (for example, the turret of an armored howitzer).
Published European Patent Application No. 220,370 discloses a heat equalization device provided apart from the recoil brake. The heat equalization device is coupled by additional conduits to the nonpressurized rear region of the recoil brake. While this arrangement allows the heat equalization device to be easily seen from the interior of the turret, it involves additional expenses and the risk of leakages.